Jackson Shooting Alerts Local Officers

Meridian's acting police chief says several MPD officers actually used to work for the Jackson Police Department, which makes the news of Detective Eric Smith's death even harder to digest.

Chief James Sharpe says officers are reminded of the dangers of their job, every time they put on their badge and uniform. Sharpe says the fact that the shooting happened inside of the police department is a reminder that officers need to be careful, no matter where they are. He tells Newscenter 11 that MPD's new building will have new security protocols.

"ID system for those who are in secure areas of the police department," he explains. "And take protocols on how to keep the facility secure. To keep, you know, hopefully things like what happened in Jackson from taking place."

In the meantime, the thoughts of everyone at MPD are with the family of Eric Smith.

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